


Thinking of Taiki

by issen4



Category: Twelve Kingdoms
Genre: Gen, Japanese Characters, Japanese Source
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 20:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/issen4/pseuds/issen4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Gyouso didn't go home</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thinking of Taiki

**Author's Note:**

  * For [twhitesakura](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=twhitesakura).



> The prompt called for Taiki but I found it easier to write about him rather than portray Taiki himself. My apologies.

Start.

It is said that by the time the traitor was vanquished and its Taiho restored from across the Sea of Emptiness, the kingdom of Tai was very nearly on the verge of ruination. Not mere collapse; that had occurred far earlier, as rumours that its missing king was already dead ran as wild as the demons that gouged the land daily. The kingdom's administrators had either gone into hiding or died, and there was scarcely a village that had not suffered some loss.

Refugees poured into En, their hearts filled with despair. Those that had not lost all hope looked upon prosperous En with envy and prayed to see a strong, peaceful Tai again.

Little wonder that by the time the Peace-King was found and returned to his rightful place in the Hakkei Palace, it would be hard to say who was the more overwhelmed of the two, a refugee of Tai, or its king. The task of bringing order to the kingdom fell to the king and its kirin, and to the very small number of administrators that had returned to service.

The work seemed unending. The king, far from remaining in his palace, went out to the provinces with his ministers and officials to make Tai livable again. It is said that his determination was such that in thirteen years, he passed by Mount Kouki three times, and not once did he return to the palace.

 

One.

Damnable reports, the curse of every general and king. On the one hand there was never enough information – there had been more sightings of demons, but where? – and on the other hand what they did know, such as the dwindling amount of supplies carried by the troops, was all too clear.

The king pushed the reports aside, hesitated, then pulled out a letter that had been delivered a month ago. With them constantly on the move, it was difficult for messengers to reach him.

_My lord_ (it said), _I trust this letter finds you well. Reports come in daily..._

Rather than read the contents, which he had already memorised anyway, the king found himself studying the brushstrokes, which were graceful and precise. He had seen Kouri only a few times after he was rescued, and had heard the story of what had transpired with Kouri being in Hourai, the injury of the lost horn and the blood sickness that had poisoned him. The Taiho of Tai was fully recovered now, he was told. He was struck by the change in Kouri, who now had the appearance of a youth of mere eighteen or nineteen years, with his mane starting to grow out now.

It was interesting to compare this older Kouri with the childlike kirin who had feared him and then chosen him years ago. He was still timid, Gyouso mused, but otherwise the iron will that Kouri had displayed when he tamed Gohran was closer to the surface than ever – the mark of someone who had trod the path between anguish and endurance – a sign of past suffering; Gyouso had seen that in some of his soldiers before.

Someone knocked at his door. "Enter," he said.

"Your majesty." The man who came in was one of his scouts. His name was Fen, and the king was thinking about promoting him soon. He looked at the king, bowed, and without waiting for a prompt, said, "The floodwaters have subsided, and we will be able to travel tomorrow."

"Oh?" Without making it obvious, the king slowly replaced the letter in his pouch. "That is good news. We have been stuck here for a week already and our supplies are running low." His suguu Keito had been killed, and he had not had the time to hunt for another.

Fen bowed again. "Your majesty, the weather has been warmer lately, and the roads have dried up by now. You have been away from the palace for more than two years. A trip to Mount Kouki will take but a day..."

The king tapped one of his reports. "It says here that there are more demons are gathering in Kukan. It's two days' away. We need to get there. Inform the others to be ready." He turned to one side and did not regard Fen, whose eyes showed first surprise and then agreement.

After the scout left, the king went back to his reports.

 

Two.

_My lord_ (the letter said), _I hope this letter finds you well. Lady Risai..._

He was glad that Lady Risai had been willing to go to Mount Kouki to take up duties, for she was more than capable and was absolutely reliable. At the same time, there was another reason that he had agreed to the appointment of Lady Risai, for she was one of the few that his Kouri trusted in Tai without compunction.

The experience of treachery had made Kouri more wary than ever of strangers and yet at the same time it had made him more resilient, if the letters were anything to go by. The Taiho was hardly someone who made a habit of boasting, but with careful advisers such as Lady Risai he had been able to hold the palace and guard it against threats, and that was not a small accomplishment for someone who was by nature humble and so unassertive.

He missed Kouri. It had been nine years now, and surely he was getting used to the idea of not having to reach down to touch Kouri's hair or to pat him on the head. He poured himself a cup of wine, and held it out to the empty seat on his right, raising his hand to where he imagined Kouri's lips must be.

How long that mane must be by now, he thought. He had seen the mane of the Taiho of Kei, which reached nearly to the floor, wiry and pale gold. Kouri's would be soft, inky black, the colour of the sky on moonless nights, long enough for him to wind his fingers around. He drank the wine in nostalgia of something he had yet to see or touch.

A soft growl made him look up, and he watched as a hound coalesced into shape. It bowed respectfully, and it occurred to the king that it did so because Kouri always did. "Kouri is well?" he asked.

The hound stared at him without reply, then slowly faded from view.

_Gohran_. The king rubbed his eyes. It was said that a homesick man will often see visions of that remind him of home.

Actually, he had lived in the Hakkei Palace for only a short time, before they were betrayed. Far too short for him to develop any sort of attachment to it, yet there was nowhere he thought of when he thought of comfort and homely pleasures. He believed that it was only Kouri who made him think of it as home.

And his duties as king. He finished his meal, and went back outside to where the ministers who had that day just arrived from the palace were waiting. It was one of them who brought the missive now tucked inside the king's belt.

"Now that demon attacks have mostly stopped, bandit attacks have been on the increase," he said what they already knew. "We will leave for Eve tomorrow."

"But your majesty, we are nearly at the doorstep of Mount Kouki!"

He narrowed his eyes. "We will go to Kouki." The sooner he could bring peace back to Tai, the sooner he ccould return to Kouri.

 

Three.

The king of Tai opened his eyes painfully, and met the relieved ones of one of the ministers. "How are you feeling?"

One moment he had been reading Kouri's letter – _My lord,_ (it said) _I hope this letter finds you well. Gohran has been..._ – and the next, something sharp had been aimed at his throat, before a near-avalanche of growling red fur jumped on the assailant.

Of course, being a king, he could not be killed, but he could be injured, though he would heal quickly from such. He was betting that his assailant had only sought to incapacitate him, and perhaps to carry him off again into imprisonment while the kingdom, slowly struggling into shape after eleven long years, would collapse once more. "Did you get him?"

The minister, a woman by the name of Lazzari, shook his head. "My apologies, your majesty. It was my thought to capture your attacker, but the Taiho's sirei took him instead."

The king was befuddled at the thought. "Took him where?"

"I imagine to Mount Kouki," Lazzari said. "The Taiho and the other ministers would wish to question him regarding his motives and his accomplices."

And anyone who thought that Kouri's retiring manner meant that he would be intimidated by a traitor would be very wrong. "Ah. Then Kouri will take care of it," the king said slowly. His head still felt like there was a great weight on it.

He was aware of Lazzari giving him an odd look, before she bowed. "Your majesty, if I may make a suggestion, perhaps it would be better for you to question the attacker yourself."

They were actually at the foot of Mt Kouki at the moment – or very nearly there. If the king looked out of the window, he could see the shape of the immense mountain rising up towards the heavens. It was not visible, but at the peak was where the Taiho of Tai lived.

"No," the king said. "We will go on to Kofan, as we planned."

 

After.

In the fourteenth year, when peace was returning to Tai and harvests had been smooth for three years running and the last of the epidemics was stamped out, the Ever-King of Tai returned to his palace on Mount Kouki. There he saw again the Taiho of Tai, who first knelt to him and then when he stood up, stumbled over his loose long hair and right into the king's arms.

**Author's Note:**

> "Passing his own door three times" describes legendary emperor Yu, who is said to have been so dedicated that he refused to visit his own home when he was entrusted with controlling China's floods, saying the urgency of his task mattered more.


End file.
